


Dragons Look a Lot Like Snakes When They're Small

by fuckgoose



Series: Snakesverse [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Multi, this is one of my favorite things ive ever thought of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-19 03:37:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20650574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuckgoose/pseuds/fuckgoose
Summary: The newly formed Team 7 has much to learn and deal with- dangerous missions, enemy shinobi, their weird new teacher, and ambiguous morals, among other things.





	1. Where It All Starts

Naruto stuck his head out of the door, glancing from one side of the hallway to the other.   
"Cut it out, Naruto!" his teammate, Haruno Sakura, said.   
"Why are we the only team whose teacher hasn't shown up yet?!" he asked back. Sakura ignored him. "All the other teams have already gone off with their teachers. Even Iruka-sensei has gone!"  
Alerted by the noise of a table being dragged across the floor, Sakura swung her head toward Naruto. "Hey! What are you up to, Naruto?!"  
The blonde boy laughed. After placing a chalkboard eraser between the door and its frame, he hopped off the table. "It's what they get for making us wait!"  
"Grow up! I want no part in this!" she said, even though she was cheering internally.   
A haughty "Hmmf!"came from the up-to-this-point silent Sasuke. "No way could a superior shinobi be caught by such a simple prank!"  
The creak of the door sliding open drew the team's attention to the entrance. A man with gray hair and a jounin vest walked through the door as the eraser fell on to his head and bounced to the floor, sending chalk dust into the air around his face.   
"HAHAHA!" Naruto cackled. "Gotcha! Good one!"  
"I'm sorry, sensei. I tried to stop him, but Naruto..." Sakura trailed off meekly. 'Set him up and knock him down! That was awesome!' she thought to herself.   
'So... This is our elite shinobi leader?' Sasuke asked in his head. 'He looks completely worthless!'  
The gray haired man closed his eyes and rubbed his chin. "Hmm... How should I say this?" he pondered. "Based on my first impression, I'd have to say..."   
The three genin looked at him in anticipation.  
"I hate you!" he finished cheerfully.  
Their faces all settled into a look of disappointment.   
  


\------------------------------------------------------------

The jounin brought his team up to the roof, where he instructed, "Now, I'd like you all to tell us a little about yourselves."  
"Like what?" the pink haired girl asked.   
"... You know, the usual. Likes, dislikes, dreams, ambitions, hobbies. Things like that," he explained.  
"Help us out here, coach. You go first. Show us how it's done," Naruto said.   
"That's right... After all, you're a complete stranger to us... A mystery," the girl added.   
"Oh, me?" he said, a bored expression on his face. 

"My name is Yakushi Kabuto."


	2. Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter:  
-Sensei's identity remains buried!  
-Sakura's ambitious goals, unearthed!  
-Sasuke notices something strange?

"My name is Yakushi Kabuto," their jounin-sensei starts. "I'm the kind of person who doesn't feel like talking about his likes and dislikes! My dreams for the future are none of your business... But anyways, I have lots of hobbies..."  
"Hey.. He said a lot, but all we really learned was his name," Sakura said quietly to the other two.   
"Now it's your turn. Starting with you on the right."   
"Me, right? My name is Uzumaki Naruto! What I like is instant cup ramen! What I like even better is when Iruka-sensei treats me to ramen at the Ichiraku Noodle Bar!" the kid said enthusiastically.   
Kabuto took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Was ramen really all this kid thought about? That was... disappointing.   
"My dream is to one day be a better shinobi than Lord Hokage! And then the villagers will have to acknowledge my existence at last!"  
Kabuto put his glasses back on and looked at the boy a little more carefully. Maybe not a total disappointment, then.   
"My hobbies are.. pranks and practical jokes, I guess."  
He scratched his head. I see... "Next!"   
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I hate a lot of things and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan... and kill a certain someone."  
Hmmm. Just as he'd thought. It seemed like his teammates weren't aware of it, however. Naruto eyed Sasuke nervously, and the girl looked at him with a hint of.... admiration? A crush, maybe? "Alright, lastly, you," he nodded towards the girl.   
"I'm Haruno Sakura, and what I like... I like birds, drawing, and, well, it's not, a thing... it's a person..." she reddened a bit, "And that person is... uhm..."  
Kabuto sighed internally. Yeah, it seemed to be a crush.   
"Let's move on to my dream! My dream is... to become stronger than.... a particular boy..." Her face hardened, her eyes firm and her smile set in a determined line.   
Ah, so it was like that. His eyebrows raised for a split second before he regained his bored mask.   
"What I hate is men who look down on girls and... Naruto," she glowered.   
Naruto looked shocked and crestfallen. Poor kid. They'd learn to get along, though. They'd have to.   
"My hobbies are drawing and reading," she finished.   
Kabuto clapped his hands together. "So, we've got a future hokage," Naruto grinned, "a quiet Uchiha- though, I suppose all the ones I know are," Sasuke's eyes narrowed lips pursed at this, "an ambitious jack of all trades," Sakura met his gaze with a small smile, "and me! So, I believe we all understand one another now. Your real training starts tomorrow."  
"YES SIR!" Naruto yelled, hand snapping to his forehead in a salute. "What will our duties be? Our first real shinobi mission!"  
"Our first project involves only the members of this cell," Kabuto explained.   
"What is it? What?" Naruto asked excitedly.   
"Survival exercises."  
"Survival exercises?" Naruto repeated.   
"But why would it be a mission? Our school days were full of survival exercises!" Sakura pointed out.   
"Ah, yes, but this time," Kabuto said as he leveled his gaze at them, "you'll have to survive against me. It'll be very different from whatever you were doing at the academy."  
"Well, then, what kind of practice will it be?" Naruto asked.   
Kabuto let out a small chuckle.   
"Why are you laughing, Kabuto-sensei?" Sakura asks.   
"Ah, it's nothing... I just worry that if I tell you, you'll chicken out," he explains.   
"Chicken out? Why?" Naruto pushes.   
"Of the twenty seven members of your graduating class only nine will actually be accepted as junior level shinobi. The other eighteen must go back for more training. The test we are about to perform has a sixty six percent rate of failure," he manages to look somewhat apologetic at the last part, but it's ruined by his poorly concealed smirk at their faces. "See? You're chickening out already!" he laughs.   
"THAT SUCKS! We have been through hell! What about our graduation test?" Naruto yelled.   
"We wanted to eliminate all the hopeless cases from your ranks. The ones who are left are the only students who show true potential." Ignoring Naruto's cries of shock, he adds on, "Anyways, we'll meet tomorrow morning on the practice field so I can evaluate each of your skills and weaknesses. Bring all your ninja tools and weapons. Don't have breakfast before hand, unless you enjoy throwing up."  
Naruto shook ever so slightly. He looked a bit angry and a bit excited. Kabuto held back a smirk.   
"Throw up?! What kind of training is this?" Sakura demanded. Kabuto ignored her.   
"Anyway, here are the mission details," he said as he handed each of them a folder. "We meet at seven o' clock tomorrow morning! Don't be late!" Before the team could ask any more questions, he body flickered away in a cloud of smoke.   
As the three students stood up and got ready to leave, Sasuke opened his mouth to speak.   
"Hey, you two."  
"Yeah?" Sakura replied.   
"Did you notice anything... odd about Kabuto-sensei?" he asked, looking at the ground next to him.   
"Uh, yeah, everything about him," she says.  
"Yeah, he's kind of a weirdo, yknow?" Naruto agrees.   
Sasuke nods a little. "I mean, yes, but anything he, like did or said- ah, never mind..." he trails off. "See you guys tomorrow."  
"Yeah, see ya!" the other boy says before heading in the direction of his apartment.   
"Mhm, you too," Sakura says over her shoulder, already walking back to her home.   
Sasuke mulled over his thoughts as he walked back to his house. It couldn't be...  
Could it?


End file.
